Fallout 3
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Fallout 3: Three new screens
Last night Bethesda Softworks dropped three fresh screens for the upcoming, and highly anticipated, first-person roleplaying title Fallout 3. From the looks of the latest screens it certainly seems that Bethesda has nailed the world that wraps the storyline, much like the world did in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.The first screen crashes a birthday party being held within a diner, complete with decorations and cone birthday lids! The second is more in line with what we've seen in the past, a monster engulfed in flames being taken to task with a mini-gun. The last screen shows the main character, who is fully customizable in looks and in specs, trying to coax a dog to him with food (we know this because of the image's original filename). We're getting excited for this one folks!%Gallery-4995%
Bethesda: There will be no demo for Fallout 3
click to enlarge Cake, pizza, fabric, all things you can take a chunk out of to judge the quality. But Fallout 3, it's more like a Jenga tower or a baby: Taking a sample slice out of it won't end up well for anyone. To that end Eurogamer reports that Bethesda's Pete Hines says there will be no demo for the sprawling action RPG. "When you build it as one thing, there's no way to portion off a section and have it stand on its own without putting the whole game in the demo, which we're just not going to do," Hines told the publication. But honestly, if at their heart demos are to help consumers make wise buying decisions, do you really need one for Fallout 3? We'll be fine waiting to have our minds blown by the whole package. In the interim, enjoy these three new screenshots Bethesda released today, to take the edge off. Gallery: Fallout 3
Bethesda confirms no Fallout 3 demo planned
Speaking with Eurogamer, Bethesda's Pete Hines confirmed that there is no Fallout 3 demo planned leading up to or after the game's release. Hines pointed to Fallout 3's open and expansive world being the reason for not doing a demo saying that "when you build it as one thing, there's no way to portion off a section and have it stand on its own." So, pretty much, Bethesda feels that offering only a chunk of the Fallout 3 world wouldn't do the game justice, ultimately giving gamers the wrong impression of what Fallout 3 has to offer. Good enough reason, just make the game super enjoyable and you won't here us complain.
Fallout 3 Collector's Edition now with Vault Boy!
Information extracted from a GameStop mailer brings details about Fallout 3's Collector's Edition and what fans will receive for their extra $20. Yup, $20 extra for this Collector's Edition, but we have to say that it does include some pretty nifty items. Fallout 3 Collector's Edition items including a Vault Boy bobblehead (w00t!), a 100 page hardcover art book and a making-of DVD all carefully placed in a Vault-tec lunch box that is said to withstand radiation. Though, we're not sure how we can test that. We have a feeling only the diehard Fallout fanboys will be willing to pay an extra $20 for this beefier edition, but that said, we know we'd love to own a Vault Boy bobblehead. He'd be our "yes man".[Via IGN]
The Digital Continuum: MMO-unfriendly games
It's a subject that's been touched on here at Massively not once or twice, but three times. Still, I feel like there's more to be said on the subject of making some non-MMO games into actual MMOs.Being a constant contributor to Massively means I obviously love MMOs, but that doesn't mean they're all I play. In fact I find myself constantly playing genres of all sorts on various platforms. Still, I do love to end the day (or sometimes spend most of the day) in a great massively multiplayer online game. There have been several occasions where I find myself playing a particular offline game and wonder, "Could this be developed as an MMO?" I eventually come to the conclusion that -- no, it probably can't.
Details on Fallout 3's Collector's Edition
It looks like yet another triple-A title will be getting the special edition treatment. This time, it's Fallout 3's turn to join the high-end club with its Collector's Edition set. Revealed through an advertisement on GameStop's website, Fallout 3's Collector's Edition will include the following: Vault Boy bobblehead 100-page hardcover art book Making-of Fallout 3 special DVD Metal Vault-Tec lunch box It's a pretty standard set of goodies for this sort of thing. The lunch box will surely be interesting as it'll double as both a game case and an actual lunch box. Imagine the look on people's faces when you show up to work/school with such a thing in your hands. The price for the PS3 Collector's Edition: $79.99. The extra cost compared to the regular version: $20. The comforting feeling that only a gamer's lunch box gives after being beaten up in the school cafeteria (or co-worker ridicule): priceless.
Fallout 3 begins with birth, ends any of 500 ways
In an excellent back-and-forth style write-up over at 1up, the PC editors break down their newest look at Bethesda's Fallout 3. The prose of the piece is a good read and intersperses interesting and important pieces of Fallout news all throughout. Like the fact that the game begins with being born. Literally. You evidently get to view that moment in all its first-person glory. The words womb and sphincter were used.On a more serious note, the game's previously noted 200 endings has now ballooned to 500. Now, upon first reading that number, fanboys everywhere are getting ready to say that with that many endings, they can't possibly be all that different! Duh, that's the point. When the number of game endings was first announced, it was around 10-15. Assuming those were all relatively different from each other, then our 500 ending are just 10-15 endings (likely more) with various gradations between them. The whole point is to (effectively) never have exactly the same ending twice. For those of you who think that's a raw deal because you can't see everything, then we have something to show you.
Interplay back in business, planning long-awaited sequels
It seems the formerly-financially-disabled company Interplay got quite a bit of cash for leaving Fallout 3 in the command of Bethesda Softworks, because they've officially gone back into business. Their plans? Sequels galore! Their first order of business, probably to keep funds rolling in, is to get a Fallout MMO out into the market. This should work, since the world of Fallout simply begs for an MMO-inspired tale. With the money gained from that, they plan to get cracking on established brands we haven't heard of since the original PlayStation -- like the MDK series. They were hard, but so very fun. Other very exciting projects would be Earthworm Jim, Descent, and Dark Alliance. We're very excited to have Interplay back and look forward to seeing what the future holds for them!
Fallout 3 to have over 200 individual endings
With most games these days we've learned to be happy, even impressed, if a game sports more than one ending. And even then most games with over one ending only have a total of two endings at all. For a game to have over 200 endings is absolutely unheard-of. In the case of Fallout 3 the 200 endings run the gamut of difference, from small story details, to the largest plot developments. So there will be gradations in the game's ending to the point that it will be difficult to impossible to get the exact same one if your second character makes different choices. This awesome news came from an interview with the games executive producer Todd Howard on the OXM official podcast. The interview has other tidbits and is worth listing, just as Fallout 3 will be worth playing.Some of the best details of the interview include the fact that the game ended up being almost twice the size than they originally planned, and that it is now near the size of the Oblivion world. Not only that but the game "is easily 100 hours" which is great news for RPG fans as combined with the DLC, this game gets bigger and bigger all the time. For those who want to skip right to the interview in the podcast, it begins at 35:00.[Via Joystiq]
New details, 'over 200 endings' for Fallout 3
Fallout fans can look forward to over 200 different endings with the upcoming Fallout 3, according to Executive Producer Todd Howard. Speaking on the OXM podcast (interview starts at 37-minute mark) Howard said, "Being that we are Bethesda, everything gets a bit big. So as of last week, we're over 200 endings. That is not an exaggeration, but it deserves some descriptions."The clarification is that, like other Fallout games, choices you make in the game will affect aspects of the ending, so that figure is really a combination of many sub-endings. The real question, then, is how many times do you have to beat the game to see every sub-ending?Howard also confirmed that Fallout 3 is twice the size than anticipated and close to the size of Oblivion. "The game is easily 100 hours," he said. Howard also goes into detail about the dog companion. Fallout 3 is still on track for release this Fall.[Via Shacknews]
Fallout 3 due for simultaneous release on PS3, 360, PC
Looking forward to playing Fallout 3? Us too. Luckily, Bethesda seem to be above those pesky "PS3 lag" problems that seemed to plague multiplatform titles last year. Fallout 3 will be hitting the PS3 on the same day as the 360 and PC during Q3 of this year, according to Todd Howard, Executive Producer of the game. That's the plan, at least.With the game still around half a year away, it's a bit early for this to be confirmed completely. Despite that, it's nice to know that Bethesda have a simultaneous release in mind as we can't wait to get our hands on the game. Hopefully some interesting information will come out of GDC this week, to quell our insane need for Fallout 3.[Via Joystiq]
Fallout 3 due for simultaneous release
Speaking with videogaming247.com, executive producer Todd Howard for Fallout 3 said that unlike the last Bethesda Softworks release, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, their latest title will launch simultaneous across all platforms.The Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions of Fallout 3 are expected to launch in the third quarter of 2008 and takes place 200 years in the future in a post-apocalyptic Washington, DC. We personally can't wait to see what the title has to offer especially considering the team is looking for inspiration from various forms of media, specifically Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road.'
Fallout 3 interview reveals world size and voice actors
Quite a lot of tantalizing news concerning Fallout 3 was dropped by Peter Hines (Bethesda Softwork's VP of marketing) in a recent interview. He compared the new game to another Bethesda RPG epic, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and revealed that Fallout 3's world would be a smaller size at around 50-80% than that of Oblivion's. A smaller world for Fallout 3 is actually befitting in the sense that interesting locales in a sparsely populated post-apocalyptic wasteland would logically be more far-in-between than that of the bustling Imperial Cyrodiil in Oblivion. Another revelation was in the voice acting department; when questioned about criticism on Oblivion's lack of voice acting, Hines replied that Fallout 3 would have "two or three times more" than that of Oblivion. Hines also declared that Ron Perlman, will reprise his narrator role as he did in the first two Fallouts. Liam Neeson has also been added to the roster doing the voice of the main character's father -- a character central to the plot of Fallout 3. There are quite a few more interesting bits in the interview, so you might want to have a read of it for yourself. [Via Kotaku]
Giant Fallout 3 Interview, plus ... vaults?
We had Mass Effect, Blue Dragon, and more last year, but other than Fable 2 what are our RPG releases for the rest of this year? Well, Fallout 3 should end up being the Oblivion of 2008 (especially considering they're from the same developer). The continuation of the post-apocalyptic dark-humor-filled isometric PC RPG of yesteryear has been in development for a while now, and is still slated for a Fall release. Bethesda's VP of Marketing, Pete Hines, sat down for a ridiculously long interview with the guys from gameplayer.com.au, and the interview is well worth reading even for folks who don't consider themselves either Fallout or Oblivion fans. And if you're either (or both!) of those then this is absolutely required reading.Keep reading the post though, and you'll hear about the vaults ....
Bethesda unveils industrial Fallout 3 concept art
As part of their ongoing development diary series, Bethesda today posted brand new Brotherhood of Steel concept art from upcoming Fallout 3 and our immediate reaction is: delicious. Fallout 3 lead designer Emil Pagliarulo goes on to describe some of the concept art and mentions the Brotherhood of Steel being a faction obsessed with and worshipers of technology. Read about the goods after the jump and take a look at the new artwork in our Fallout 3 gallery below. Oh, and Bethesda also needs QA testers for their little project. Hit that up if you qualify.%Gallery-4995%[Via Joystiq]
Bethesda calls for Fallout 3 QA testers, shows new concept art
Are you the kind of vault dweller not wanting to seek life outside your safe vault dwelling but still longing for excitement? Bethesda is hiring Quality Assurance (QA) testers for the upcoming Fallout 3. Sure, you get to play the game before anyone else, but as an added incentive, Bethesda's Ashley Cheng notes that top testers usually get pulled to be interns for the company. The developer diary for Fallout 3 has also been updated to give a profile for the Brotherhood of Steel, as well as show off some concept art for the game that you can also peruse in our gallery below. Fallout 3 is still slated for a Fall 2008 release.
Next Gen compiles best of 2008: GTAIV on top
Next Generation has put together its own list of the best upcoming games of 2008, a popular thing to do at this time of year. Their list has an interesting twist though: estimated sales numbers. Each game is given a three month sales projection derived by taking sales of previous entries in a franchise (or similar games in the case of new franchises) and tacking on expected sales increases for 2008. Most titles are nestled somewhere in the 300,000 - 900,000 sales range. Undoubtedly though, the one game predicted to blow the competition away is none other than Grand Theft Auto IV, projected to sell between 3.5 and 4 million copies. The only titles close to this number are Fable 2 which could go as high as 1.3 million and Fallout 3 and Halo Wars, both of which could break 1 million. Granted, these are all merely predictions, but we'd say it's a pretty safe bet that Grand Theft Auto IV will be the game to beat in 2008.[Via Evil Avatar]
The Joystiq Holiday Weekend, 2007
A Pip Vault Boy Gingerbread house (of Fallout fame) is delicious and delectable, especially the blood splattered outside the front door. We bet he ate the little gingerbread people and wiped his smiling face on the pavement. Congratulations to Andy Barnes, who submitted this image to Bethesda's blog and won a Fallout 3 t-shirt. Check out the highlights for today:JoystiqueryJoystiq interview: NIS America talks PS2 love, Mana Khemia detailsToday's angriest viral video: Judd Apatow, Rock Band and backlashWeekly Webcomic Wrapup has gone fishingNewsReminder: Rez HD is a tripHD porn studio swayed to Blu-ray by PS3 ownersPatapon trailer delights some, terrorizes restNYTimes names Mass Effect game of the yearRockstar distributing through IGN's Direct2DriveSessler speaks about X-Play format shift'Safer Scotland' places anti-drunk driving ads in 360 gamesNew games this week: Santa hates you editionCriterion (cockily) responds to Burnout Paradise criticismsBlades of Steel, Donkey Kong Country 3 and Rolling Thunder 2 land on Virtual ConsoleSCEA trademarks 'Resistance 2'Nintendo, Monster Hunter score big in part one of Famitsu's end of year listRock Band Weekly: All-American Rejects, 30 Seconds to Mars, The Sounds; PS3 delayed a weekCrytek gives community Crysis map pack for ChristmasSmallville's Kristin Kreuk to play Chun Li in new Street Fighter flickLost Planet star signed to G.I. Joe filmSteam's last-minute Christmas sale: 10-50% off everythingRumors & SpeculationRumor: Indian gaming company to buy out Sony Online Entertainment for $300 million [update]Culture & CommunityHappy (Holiday Name Here) from Aperture ScienceTeam Roomba perfects the art of Team Fortress 2 griefingGet your head in the game with Wii remote VR display
Fallout 3 Create a Perk contest winner selected, 'Grim Reaper's Sprint'
"Every time you kill an opponent, all your action points are automatically restored." So goes the description for the perk "Grim Reaper's Sprint," winner of Bethesda's Fallout 3 Create a Perk contest. The designer, Marc-André Deslongchamps of Montreal, will see his perk included in the final game as well as receive a package of PC-related prizes.The contest, announced in early October, was in honor of Fallout's 10th anniversary. Eleven runner-ups and five random entries were chosen to also receive gifts; be sure to check out their submitted perks at the contest page. We're hoping to see some of these other perks, especially Kleptomaniac, find their way into Fallout 3 in some facet.Now that we know one of the perks, anyone want to place bets on what the others will be?
Bethesda opens up about Fallout 3 DLC
Chatting with CVG, Bethesda's Pete Hines talks a bit about development of Fallout 3 and how downloadable content will play a roll in the game's future. In general, Hines says that the studio wants to focus all their energy on the core game, making it the best it can be and if they don't get that right then "nobody's going to want to download anything for it anyway". But Hines' attitude towards DLC isn't completely off, saying that after development wraps up on the game and bug testing kicks off, then the dev team will start looking at their Fallout 3 DLC possibilities. So, we wouldn't expect to see Fallout 3 content hitting the Marketplace the week of or weeks after release. Shucks.
